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Faculty

Hokulani Aikau

 

I am a native Hawaiian who was born in Hawai‘i but raised and educated in the diaspora. My research and teaching interests and commitments stem from my experience as a Kanaka Maoli who grew up in a deeply religious community of Polynesians living in Utah. As an ‘off-island’ Hawaiian I was surrounded by stories of ‘back home’ and engulfed in the sounds and smells of the islands each week when various Polynesian families shared food, stories and music on Sunday afternoons at our house. Although I didn’t know it at the time, these gatherings were an essential part of how I came to know what it meant to be Hawaiian. When I returned to Hawai‘i nei in 2003, the stories that filled my childhood took on more meaning as the places and events came to life around me. Since returning to Hawai‘i, I finished my dissertation titled “Polynesian Pioneers: Twentieth Century Religious Racial Formations and Migration in Hawai‘i”and began taking Hawaiian language classes at UH Manoa and completed my Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Minnesota. In August 2005 I joined the faculty in the Political Science department. I currently teach courses in the Indigenous Politics focus area and cross listed courses with Women’s Studies.

Noenoe Silva

I was born Oahu and am of Kanaka Maoli descent. I grew up in California and returned to Hawai'i nei in 1985. In 1991 I earned my bachelor's in Hawaiian language, and immediately began teaching Hawaiian here at UH Manoa. In 1993 I completed a master's degree in Library and Information Studies, and in 1999 earned my doctorate in political science. I joined the faculty of political science in Fall 2001, and now serve as associate professor. I now teach courses in Hawaiÿi and indigenous politics, as well as Hawaiian, and two undergraduate courses that are cross-listed in political science and Hawaiian. My book, Aloha Betrayed: Native Hawaiian Resistance to American Colonialism, published by Duke University Press, won the Baldridge prize for best book in history by a resident of Hawai'i in 2003-2004.

 

 

 

 

 

Noelani Goodyear-Ka`opua

 

Welina me ke aloha.  He kanaka ‘oiwi Hawai‘i au.  ‘O O‘ahu  ku‘u one hanau.  I was born and raised on O'ahu, but my genealogy also connects my 'ohana to Hawai‘i and Maui islands, as well as Southern China and the British Midlands.  My undergraduate work was completed at UH Manoa in Hawaiian Studies and Political Science, focusing on independence and anti-militarization movements in Hawai'i and the Pacific. I earned my PhD in History of Consciousness at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2005.  My dissertation, Ku i ka Mana: Building Community and Nation through Contemporary Hawaiian Schooling, allowed me to work in conjunction with Kanaka educators who are changing the cultural and political aims of K-12 education in Hawai'i.  During this time, I co-founded Halau Ku Mana, a Hawaiian culture-based public charter school, which has been serving students in grades 6-12 since 2001. My research interests include:  Native-designed and controlled systems of education; Indigenous political values and governance; and Indigenous research methodologies and praxis.  In 2007, I joined the Indigenous Politics faculty at UH Manoa as an assistant professor.  I currently teach courses in Indigenous politics and Native Hawaiian politics.  My most treasured role is being a mom.  I also have a passion for canoe paddling, swimming, surfing, spoken word poetry and healing practices from various traditions.

 

 

Other Political Science Faculty

• Kathy Ferguson
• Jon Goldberg-Hiller
• Mike Shapiro
• Nezvat Soguk
  
  

 

Affiliate Faculty

• Ulla Hasager, Ethnic Studies
  
• Vilsoni Hereniko, Pacific Island Studies
  
• Lilikala Kame'eleihiwa, Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies
  
• Davianna McGregor, Ethnic Studies
  
• Jonathan Osorio, Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies
• Haunani-Kay Trask, Kamakakuokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies
• Richard Rath, History
• Ty Kawika Tengan, Ethnic Studies and Anthropology

 

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